Aiming to raise up to $500 million in liquidity for the struggling retailer,Sears Holdings Corp.filed registration documents Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating it plans to spin off its hardware and outlet stores. According to the filing, shareholders will get the right to buy one share in the new company, called Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc., for each share of Sears common stock they own. Sears said it expects the shares to...

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The owner of a 54-year-old Cleveland hardware store is retiring and decided to donate his entire stock to Habitat for Humanity to help build housing for the poor. For the past week, volunteers at Rudy's Hardware in the city's historic Slavic Village area have been busy packing up plumbing, electrical and construction supplies. Much of the inventory at Rudy Rosales' store catered to the unique needs of the immigrant...

In the next few weeks, Tom and Darlene Gehrke will lock the front door of Hawthorne Paint Pail and Hardware in Wheaton--one of those friendly little stores that survived on service and smiles--and look around for something else to do with the rest of their lives. Like the owners of more than 10 percent of the hardware stores in America since 1985, they became the victims of intense competition from chains owned by such companies as Sears, Roebuck and Co., Home Depot Inc. and Menard Inc. as well as the...

Whatever you're looking for - a commercial-grade snow thrower or a DIY drill kit - there are dozens of options at the biggest tool and equipment store in the world, the Web. It dwarfs even the floor-to-ceiling inventories at big-box stores. But there are pros and cons of buying DIY online. Pros Logistics. The Web wins here because you don't have to go store to store checking features and prices. You don't have to take...

Sears, Roebuck and Co., in a move underscoring its focus on its new, free-standing hardware stores, named Sears executive Gary Crittenden, 43, to the newly created post of hardware-store president. Sears, which launched the hardware stores last year, currently has 180 in 19 states, plus 65 Orchard Supply hardware stores in California.

Keith Morgan built Lake Forest Hardware, the business he started with his wife in the early 1990s, into a true community asset, not only with his extensive knowledge of the hardware business but through his genuine interest in people and customers. "Keith was a poster child for what customer service is and should be," said Jerry Kahn, whose PostNet business is adjacent to the hardware store in the Sunset Corners shopping center. "He gave every customer the same time and care and...

Solid footing: Want to keep those steps skid- and slip-proof? Whether it's outdoors or indoors, a new product may be the answer. It's Skid-Tex Crystal Clear Non-Slip Safety Coating from Bondex International. Skid-Tex can be found at paint stores, home centers and hardware stores.

A new family-style restaurant with a sports theme may be open in time for football season in Hinsdale. The Village Board recently approved extended hours for selling liquor at Fullersburg Grill and Spirits, which will open in a portion of Fuller's Ace Hardware Store, 35 E. First St. The board approved establishing a new category of liquor license that will permit restaurants to serve liquor past the current cutoff times of 10:30 p.m. on weeknights...

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to close 53 specialty stores in the first half of 2012, the company said in its annual report filed late Wednesday. The closures include 43 Sears hometown dealer stores and 10 Sears Hardware stores. Hometown stores are small hardware stores, usually operated by independent dealers in rural areas. Sears Hardware stores are larger, corporate-owned outposts that carry Craftsman tools, DieHard car batteries and a limited selection of Kenmore appliances. None of...

A portion of Fuller's Ace Hardware store in Hinsdale could be turned into a family style restaurant with a sports theme under a proposal being weighed by the village. Doug Fuller, owner of the store at 35 E. First St., discussed the proposal with the Administration and Community Affairs Committee Monday. He is asking for an extension of hours during which alcohol could be sold at that establishment that would be called Fullersburg Grill and Spirits. Fuller is asking...

Aiming for a big boost in its Craftsman tools and hardware business in California, Sears, Roebuck and Co. said Thursday it plans to buy Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. for approximately $415 million. The 61 Orchard stores, all in California, are "a perfect fit" with Sears' 115 free-standing hardware stores, Arthur C. Martinez, Sears chairman and chief executive, said in an interview Thursday. "Both appeal to the fix-it customer involved in maintenance," he added, "not...

By Gene and Katie Hamilton, Tribune Media Services and Do It Yourself or Not? | March 11, 2013

While texture-painting a ceiling is not a solution for deep cracks, it is an attractive way to conceal light ones and add interest and dimension to an otherwise flat surface. After patching and sanding the minor cracks, texture painting is a topcoat application that creates a decorative finish with swirls and stippling effects that call attention to the ceiling. A painting contractor will charge $513 to make minor repairs and apply a primer and latex texture paint finish to a 300-square-foot ceiling, or...

Only the logos remain on the buildings that housed the True Value and Ace hardware stores in southwest suburban Worth and Palos Hills, respectively. Both closed their doors for good this summer, the latest casualties in the battle between neighborhood hardware stores and big home-center discount chains like Home Depot, Menards and Builders Square. Before they closed, the owners of both stores, Ken Holmberg of Worth True Value at 7103 W. 111th St. and Barry Murphy of Palos Hills Ace at 11152 Southwest...

Oak Park Avenue was a typical main street in a small town when Mayor Ed Zabrocki and his family moved to Tinley Park in 1970. The businesses "were 'mom & pop' kind of things," Zabrocki said, recalling three dress shops, two hardware stores and a "dime" store. Then shopping malls started locating nearby, "and the 'mom & pop' stores took a major hit," he said. Oak Park Avenue is still the village's Main Street, covering a little more than two miles. It stretches north to 165th...

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to spin off its Hometown and Outlet stores to shareholders Tuesday. According to a statement late Friday, the Hoffman Estates-based retailer will distribute transferable subscription rights to shareholders Tuesday, allowing them to buy shares of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. on a pro rata basis for $15 per whole share. Sears shareholders will receive one transferable subscription right for each share of Sears' common stock held as of...

To the 23 million hearing-impaired people in the United States, a smoke alarm's siren might not be discernible. Two new smoke alarms for the hearing impaired feature high-intensity strobe lights that flash about 60 times per minute when the alarm is triggered. Suggested retail price is $79.99. The Fyrnetics alarms (models SL177 or SL1771) are available in hardware stores, home centers or from Fyrnetics Inc., 1055 Stevenson Ct., Suite 102W, Roselle, Ill. 60172.

Sears received $446.5 million in gross proceeds after completing an offer tied to the spinoff of its Hometown and Outlet stores, the company said Thursday. The Hoffman Estates-based retailer had signaled in February that it would split off the companies as a separate publicly traded entity. Sears distributed a total of 23.1 million shares of Sears Hometown common stock to rights holders. The offering of rights to purchase shares of the spinoff debuted on the Nasdaq...

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to spin off its Hometown and Outlet stores to shareholders Tuesday. According to a statement late Friday, the Hoffman Estates-based retailer will distribute transferable subscription rights to shareholders Tuesday, allowing them to buy shares of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. on a pro rata basis for $15 per whole share. Sears shareholders will receive one transferable subscription right for each share of Sears' common stock held as of...